Chapter 30 The Warnings
Naruto's clone was not happy to see Tsunade and Jiraiya at his door talking to Hinata and Ino. He wasn't sure if he was even surprised by this, sure he knew that the two sannin would try again to get him to talk to them, but he wasn't sure that he expected them to do it at the same time or at his home. Whatever he did feel, hospitable was not it.
"Naruto, I found something in the lawbooks that you need to know." Tsunade pressed before the clone could get into a rant.
"Tsunade I think-" Jiraiya started.
"You can wait." Tsunade insisted, the look in her eyes brokering no surrender. "Naruto, there is a law in Konoha's charter, which makes it one of the really big laws in town. I don't know who put it there or when, because I'm pretty sure none of the hokages would approve of it, but the important thing is it's there and it will be used against you if someone brings it up."
"What law?" Hinata and Ino asked.
Tsunade took a deep breath, anticipating tremendous backlash from her upcoming words. "There's a law that says a jinchuuriki is legally required to work in service to Konoha until they can no longer be a jinchuuriki. In other words, legally speaking Naruto cannot go on strike or resign. As long as the fox is in him, he doesn't get a choice in the matter."
"WHAT?!"
What followed that question was a mash of so many more questions and rants and insults that they blended together into just plain and simple noise.
"ENOUGH!" Jiraiya shouted, silencing everyone. "Let's take this inside before you draw more attention."
Naruto's clone looked down seeing some passerby looking their way, and nodded. Everyone went inside.
"Who's the other person here?" Jiraiya asked once inside.
"There's no one here but us." Hinata stated.
"Girl, I may not have a doujutsu, but I know when there's a girl around. So you might as well bring her out before Tsunade drags her out."
The door to Naruto's room opened and out walked Sahino. Both sannin were surprised to see her, and Tsunade was glad to see she was at least clothed though Jiraiya was kind of hoping she would have been wearing a robe.
"Who are you?" Tsunade asked, having never seen this girl before. But damn if she didn't look familiar.
"My name is Sahino, but you're not here for me. What do you want with our boyfriend?"
"Our?" Tsunade and Jiraiya repeated.
"So you girls really are... sharing Naruto?" Tsunade asked, finding this confusing even though it did put a lot of past choices into context.
"Oh boy, this is going to get worse before it gets better." Jiraiya sighed, putting a hand on his face.
"How so?" Sahino asked.
"Later. Naruto, this law I mentioned is very unfair and I will work to find ways to alter it if not get it removed-" Tsunade started, only to see the whiskered blonde snort, roll his eyes, and look ready to punch her. "But as I was saying, there is a loophole. One that you can use to protect yourself. The law says that you are required to serve Konoha, but it doesn't say that you have to do so as a ninja."
"So if Naruto-kun gets a different job, then he's not breaking this horrendous law. And no one in power can punish him for it." Hinata summarized.
Tsunade nodded. "It's not a perfect solution, but it will buy time at least. If Naruto resigns being a ninja, he must still have a job that benefits Konoha until a replacement jinchuuriki can be found."
"What would happen if I don't?" Naruto asked.
"Naruto-" Tsunade started.
"What? Tell me, what will this village do to me if I refuse to work for it anymore? Will they treat me like a missing-nin before I actually go missing?"
"Yes." Jiraiya said bluntly.
The girls and Naruto went silent.
"Refuse to do your job, and they'll find someone who will."
"Hold on, I thought Naruto's 'job' was to contain the fox, not weaponize it." Ino pointed out.
"Militaristically speaking, there is no point in containing the fox in a person without weaponizing-" Jiraiya started, only to be socked in the jaw by Naruto's clone.
"Naruto!" Tsunade chided, not wanting this to devolve into a slugfest.
"You self-centered bastard! That whole so-called training trip was never about protecting me from the Akatsuki, was it?! This whole time you were protecting the fox from them!"
"Naruto it's-"
"That's why this whole time no one, not even you two, ever took my goals seriously! Because at the end of the day, I'm replaceable but the fox isn't!"
"That's not true!" Both sannin objected, horrified that he would make such an accusation.
"Why should we believe either of you?" Ino interjected, stepping up to the two adults. "You both know his goals and yet neither of you have done anything to help him achieve them."
"Can we please talk about this later?" Tsunade pressed.
"No, you answer our questions or else." Naruto threatened.
"Or else what?" Jiraiya tested.
Naruto smirked, but his eyes were filled with rage. "I have a secret weapon, and I'm not afraid to use it. But if I do, the Akatsuki will no longer be my problem."
"What are you talking about?" Jiraiya asked, not understanding. Yet something told him his student wasn't bluffing.
"Never mind. What questions do you kids insist on getting answers to?" Tsunade said, trying to get this back on track.
"Do you want me to become hokage or not?" Naruto asked.
Tsunade sighed. "You've already asked that question."
"And you never answered." Naruto claimed.
"Yeah, we asked that too and you didn't answer us either." Hinata pointed out.
"So answer it now instead of avoiding it." Ino insisted.
"This isn't-" Tsunade attempted to say.
"Just answer the damn question!" Naruto warned. "Do you want me to become hokage someday or not? Yes or no?"
The slug sannin hesitated. "I'm afraid okay? I'm afraid that if you get the job you'll be bored of it by the next day and resent being stuck with it. All that hope you feel right now will die and you'll just spend the rest of your life being as miserable as the Uchiha. I'm sorry Naruto, but it's better for you to want the job and never get it then it is for you to get it and realize you never actually wanted it in the first place."
"So I'm not even allowed to see for myself if the job is worth doing?"
"You do more good for people this way. Your drive to achieve the impossible inspires everyone around you to do the same themselves." Tsunade justified.
"What the hell? You really just see Naruto-kun as a tool, don't you?" Sahino claimed.
"No I don't!" Tsunade declared.
"Then why do you want me to keep being a ninja but you don't want me to get anything I don't already have?" Naruto asked. "If I'm not a tool, then why are you using me to make other people happy? But you're not making me happy? Tell me, was I really supposed to keep trying to become hokage for the rest of my life but never allowed to actually do it? When was I allowed to stop?"
Tsunade looked away.
"Either you intended Naruto-kun to spend the rest of his life chasing this dream without success, or you intended him to give up on his own but just not yet. Which is it?" Hinata added.
Tsunade sighed. "Honestly, I don't think even I know the answer to that one."
"It doesn't matter. All this time you've lied and misled Naruto and now you're just mad that you've been caught and trying to save yourself." Ino accused, looking disgusted. "I can't believe I ever looked up to you."
"If I had known this is who you really are, I would have told you to stay with your empty bottles." Naruto jabbed, making Tsunade wince.
"As long as you have a job, you'll legally be safe from harm. Some people won't like it, but despite what Jiraiya here said, a jinchuuriki's primary duty is to contain, not weaponize. So if you really do resign as a ninja, at least this will protect you until a new jinchuuriki can be made at the end of your life." Tsunade offered.
"And do you have a replacement already in mind?" Sahino asked.
Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at each other nervously before the latter sighed. "That's kind of where the next part comes in. Naruto, are you actually romantically involved with these three women?"
"That's none of your business."
"Actually, it kind of is if you want us to help you."
The whiskered blonde crossed his arms. "You've barely been of any help at all, why start now?"
"Look, could you stop being angry for two seconds and let me say everything I need to say?!" Jiraiya all but shouted, sounding like he was running out of patience.
Naruto sat down but still looked like he was already out of patience himself. Hinata, Ino, and Sahino sat by him, showing a united front, and none of them said a word.
"Thank you. Now, since you now know your heritage, dating several girls, including two clan heiresses, brings up a new problem. Are you aware of something called the Clan Restoration Act?"
Hinata nodded. "I am, at least the gist of it."
"I'm don't." Ino said, while Naruto and Sahino shook their heads.
"Okay, the assumption of the CRA is that it's a law that allows a man to have multiple wives. So that's not what you're aiming for here?"
"Why, should I?" Naruto asked.
Jiraiya shook his head and waved his hands in front of him. "No, absolutely not. If you do go down that path, any help we could offer you is pointless."
Tsunade nodded in understanding. "Ah, so that's what you were getting at."
"What are you talking about?" Ino asked.
"The Clan Restoration Act is just that, an act to restore a dying clan. Not an excuse to have a harem. Technically, being the last Uzumaki here sans Tsunade-" Jiraiya started.
"Hold it, you're an Uzumaki?" Hinata interjected, looking at the slug sannin. All eyes went to her.
"Partially, my grandmother was an Uzumaki. But it means I'm one-fourth Uzumaki at most, so genetically speaking it's not enough to matter here."
"Oh, it matters." Naruto hissed, then looked to Jiraiya. "Continue."
Jiraiya gulped. "Okay, well as I was saying, technically one could make the argument that if you're pursuing an open relationship like this, particularly with heiresses, that means you have to be put into the CRA in order to avoid... nasty consequences. However, that would just be trading one problem for another. So what exactly is the nature of this arrangement?"
"It started as Sakura's idea to help Naruto figure out just what type of girl he actually considers his type. So that way he's not going to settle for the first girl that would say yes to him." Ino explained.
"But I think at this point it's safe to say that all four of us have no intention of being just friends with Naruto-kun. So one way or another, he's getting his harem." Sahino added, making the whiskered blonde blush.
"Jiraiya-sama, how exactly would the CRA make this worse for us?" Hinata asked.
"Like I said, restoring the clan is the priority, not the love life of the person using it. If it were used on Naruto, he'd be denied any and all ninja jobs and training and essentially be locked away in a secure location to ensure he does not die early. Genetic samples would be taken from him and women would be chosen via genetic screening for optimal compatibility to ensure healthy offspring. Romantic feelings wouldn't matter in the slightest here. Then the resulting offspring would be kept under guard and never allowed to leave Konoha, offered minimal training to ensure they've received the qualities that are worth being restored in the first place, and only when the children themselves prove capable of having children too is the original target of the CRA released and allowed to resume a quote-unquote normal life."
"What?" Everyone sans the adults in the room all but shouted.
"Think about it, how else do you ensure a clan's survival and restoration from near extinction? I mean, you can't risk the lone survivor dying before they have children, and you can't risk that said children won't inherit what makes the clan so great in the first place. And you need to make sure that the clan will be able to live more than just one more generation, otherwise it was a futile effort."
"But it's cruel and dehumanizing." Ino objected.
"I agree, which is why we don't want it to be used on Naruto. If it happens, he'll not only never actually be with any of you but his ninja career will basically be dead forever. And with him being a jinchuuriki, odds are someone is going to use this to try and ensure one of his kids will be able to take his place as the next jinchuuriki."
Naruto rose to his feet. "There's no way in hell I'm going to make my son or daughter deal with this burden."
"Do you think your parents wanted you to deal with it?" Tsunade asked.
"I don't know what they wanted because no one has told me anything about them. Hell, I'm not even sure that they wanted me to be named Naruto."
"They did, they told me themselves." Jiraiya admitted. "But look, we don't want the CRA used here, so unless you have a plan to be with two clan heiresses and more girls all at the same time without getting the heads of these clans or more angry at you, you might have to accept being a one-woman man."
Hinata and Sahino looked unhappy with this, since neither wanted to surrender their relationship with him. Ino looked worried and a little dejected.
"What about if only one of us marries him? Sure, open marriages aren't popular but they aren't illegal." Hinata asked.
"True, but you're a clan heiress. You know that comes with expectations. Even marrying outside your clan doesn't free you from them. It doesn't matter who you marry or what name you take, your clan will still tie your actions and choices to their reputation. Can you honestly say that you being in an open marriage won't stir up controversy with your clan?"
"What if Naruto-kun becomes hokage? Would they still find it shameful?" Sahino asked.
Tsunade sighed. "Best case scenario, no. But other people outside the village might. Clients, allies, the daimyo, the hokage is more than just the leader of the village, they're the public face of it. Imagine if I was known to be screwing multiple men. Clients are a lot more squeamish and judgmental than you give them credit for, and allies are always looking for any sign that an alliance isn't worth it anymore. Not to mention daimyo's tend to have a 'Rule for thee, not for me' mentality, so they wouldn't approve of a kage being openly polyamorous."
"What if I renounce my position?" Hinata asked, surprising the others.
Tsunade put a hand on her chin. "Off the top of my head, I'd say... theoretically that could work. If you had no obligations anymore than any complaints would just be that, complaints. But that depends on if you can do that, and if you really believe Naruto is worth it. Because I'm pretty sure you can't take a renounced position back if you change your mind later."
Hinata looked resolute. "I'm willing to take that chance."
"Hinata-chan." Naruto said, sounding touched. She turned to him and he pulled her into a hug, which she returned. No words were said, none were needed, but both were close to shedding some tears.
Ino fidgeted. "Naruto, I'm not sure what my feelings are just yet. I'm willing to talk to my parents about this, but knowing what my dad thinks, I'm... I'm worried we might have to consider the possibility of me leaving this harem."
Naruto broke the hug to look at the platinum blonde in shock, as did Hinata and Sahino. "Ino?"
"It's not like I'm breaking up with you, but maybe it would solve some problems if I stepped aside and let you be with girls who know how much they love you." Ino said, looking away from him. "You deserve to be with girls who can say they love you and mean it, not someone who's just afraid to be alone."
"Ino..." Naruto trailed off, not sure what exactly to say.
The Yamanaka heiress got up. "Tell Sakura I'm sorry, and thanks for giving me this chance while it lasted." She then left the apartment.
There was an uncomfortable silence in the room for a while, no one knowing what to say.
"So... where exactly do we stand now that all of this is out in the open?" Tsunade asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.
"Where do we stand?" Naruto repeated, gritting his teeth as he rose to his feet. "I'll tell you where I stand! I'm done being a ninja and I'm done being taken advantage of! If that means I have to spend the rest of my life as a civilian, then so be it!"
"But what about your dream?" Tsunade asked.
"You admitted that you don't want me to achieve it and Ero-sennin admitted that his priority is keeping the fox away from enemies. Tell me, is there anyone, literally anyone, in a position of power in this damn village that actually wants me to become hokage?"
Tsunade and Jiraiya said nothing.
Naruto snorted. "I rest my case."
Hinata rose to her feet. "Naruto-kun should not be expected to keep pursuing an impossible goal just so he can inspire others to reach their own. He's not a living motivational poster."
"What she said." Sahino agreed, coming beside the whiskered blonde and putting an arm around him while Hinata did the same.
Tsunade looked on for a moment, and then sighed. "Then I guess that's that. Just keep in mind that there will be consequences to this choice and I can't protect you from all of them."
"I don't expect you to."
Hearing that hurt her, but even she had to admit it was a deserved hurt.